Target sorry for labeling plus-size dress ‘manatee gray’

Every weekday, PR Daily associate editor Alan Pearcy highlights the day’s most compelling stories and amusing marginalia on the Web in this, #TheDailySpin.

When I first overheard the words “grey” and “pulled” being used in the same sentence this week, my heart palpitated with hope that ABC had officially killed “Grey’s Anatomy,” pulling the plug on a series that flatlined long ago due to its troubled plot twists. Like when Izzie had sex with a ghost and saved that deer. Or the time Cristina got impaled by that wicked icicle. Really, Shonda Rhimes?! Alas, the somehow-still-popular drama lives on.

The same can’t be said of a plus-size dress sold by Target. The garment quickly made its way onto the retailer’s endangered species list when shopper Susan Clemens tweeted her dismay after noticing a color discrepancy on the store’s website. According to Business Insider, the maxi dress was listed as “dark heather gray” in standard sizes, but the color description changed to “manatee gray” for plus-sizes. Manatee—you know, the animal also known as a sea cow. Target later apologized for the oversight, notes Jezebel. A spokesman for the store said the color is common in a range of its products.

A discrepancy over job qualifications for a McDonald’s job went viral this week. A post advertising a cashier gig at a franchise in Massachusetts claimed candidates needed a bachelor’s degree. Media outlets such as the Daily Mail jumped on the story, but Lori Ruscito, the owner of the franchise, told The Huffington Post it’s simply not true. Apparently, the site that hosted the posting screwed up.

If you think that’s misleading, wait until you read a list compiled by mental_floss of 14 “contronyms”—words that are their own antonyms.

Meanwhile, Clorox is proving words can be fun and marketable. In a press release, the brand introduces parents to its “Ick-tionary,” which chronicles a new language for all things messy. Examples include:

• Spillates (spil-Iah-teez)—Stretching exercises that tone muscles and improve flexibility when you’re wiping up spills under tables and on countertops.

• Petrifries (pet-ruh-frahyz)—Week-old French fries found stuck in the toddler’s high chair.

Speaking of messes, have you seen a journalist’s desk recently? Neither have they. Jim Romenesko shares the award-winning photos taken by Will Steacy, who has spent the last four years capturing “the rapid transformation of The Philadelphia Inquirer as the paper emerges from bankruptcy and struggles to adapt to a digital era.” Unfortunately, all the piles of loose notes and clutter shown in the pictures aren’t the harshest realities facing the modern newspaper industry.

Perhaps Henry Hargreaves would let staffers from the newspaper take out their digital frustrations by deep-frying an iPad or something. Mashable reports on the photographer’s Tumblr account, where he’s assembled an oddly delectable gallery of deep-fried gadgets including a Game Boy and multiple Apple products.

Although Apple doesn’t need to douse its products in batter to tantalize customers, it wouldn’t be the strangest idea a marketer ever had. From “thighvertising” to pillow-dating, Advertising Age highlights a number of Japanese marketing trends that you probably don’t want to try.

Entrepreneurs Unplugged does suggests, however, that you sometimes try talking rather than typing. It could make all the difference when it comes to building those vital business relationships.

And when you do choose to type rather than talk, make sure you keep your communication clear. That’s the key to effective copy, according to Copyblogger’s Kelton Reid, who provides a short guide to writing good copy that can both establish trust and build relationships.

Not clear where “Mad Men” left off last season? Vulture offers a refresher leading into Sunday’s two-hour season six premiere, as well as where it hopes each of the show’s prominent characters are headed.

A character in his own right, Dos Equis’ “Most Interesting Man in the World” suggests we move up this year’s Cinco de Mayo festivities, which fall on Sunday. Instead, the brand proposes we celebrate early with a pre-holiday event dubbed “Dos de Mayo” slated for Thursday, May 2: (via MarketingDaily)